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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cue — a hint
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cue — for pool
  7. scale — in music
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. cue — a signal
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. rash — hasty
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. sharp — clever
  19. rash — a series
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — a weight
  24. scale — size or range

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com